Collegiate neighbors face off for croquet cup

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - It began with a challenge from the Naval Academy to its tiny neighbor college in Annapolis: Just try to beat us at any sport. So St. John's proposed a game of croquet, and a wild, weird tradition was born.

This is the 27th year for the Annapolis Cup croquet match between the two schools, which is held on the campus of St. John's. If you've ever played croquet in your backyard, you know it involves using a mallet to knock balls through small metal hoops called wickets. The Annapolis Cup is a nine wicket game.

For the competition, the Mids always wear crisp white pants, shirts and cardigan sweaters with colored ties in accordance with U.S. Croquet Association code. The Johnnies choose kooky costumes that are kept secret until just before the match. This year they dressed up as bare-chested warrior Vikings with beards and horned helmets. St. John's team member Ben Hutchins says it was an obvious choice, "because Vikings, you know, they always win at sea. We've got to beat the sailors!"

Hundreds of spectators attend, dressing up in roaring-twenties-style clothes. Many bring blankets and lay out elaborate picnics featuring champagne and finger food. Live jazz music adds to the throwback mood. Quite a few people come just for the party, and don't even know the rules of the game. "All I can say is get it through the little hole. That's all I got," says Kristin Powell, a partygoer who wore one of her grandmother's full length dresses to the event.

In the end, St. John's won Sunday's match 4-1. In nearly three decades of play, Navy has only won the contest five times.

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